South Korean technology firms are gearing up to launch new services where users can compare different insurance products on their platforms, but the move has been met with strong resistance from traditional agents, sources said Wednesday. Financial authorities earlier this week approved local big tech firms such as Naver and Kakao to launch test-runs of their new “insurance agent” services starting from as early as October, according to the policymaking Financial Services

South Korea plans to come up with a set of measures this month to strengthen the competitiveness in exports amid the global economic downturn, the industry ministry said Wednesday. The envisioned plan comes as the country has seen a slowdown in the growth of exports, which account for half of the economy, and its trade deficit has widened in recent months due to high energy prices. In July, exports rose 9.4 percent on-year, marking the 21st consecutive month of growth. But they began to mark sin

South Korea's stock market opened higher Wednesday amid uncertainty over the direction of the global economy and monetary policy at home and abroad. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 17.27 points, or 0.71 percent, to trade at 2,452.61 as of 9:15 a.m. Investors are bracing for more monetary tightening policy at home, along with the possibility of hawkish remarks from the United States later this week. The Bank of Korea is widely expected to raise its interest rate

South Korean retail investors' bond purchases have surged this year as they seek safe-haven assets amid rising interest rates and a bearish stock market, data showed Wednesday. Local individual investors had bought a net 10.2 trillion won (US$7.6 billion) worth of bonds over the counter this year as of Monday, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association. The amount is more than double their net buying of 4.6 trillion won for all of last year. By type, corporate bon

The South Korean won weakened to 1,345.5 won per US dollar on Tuesday, marking a fresh 13-year low, despite a warning that authorities would rein in speculative trading seen as behind the depreciation. The verbal warning, coming for a fourth time for the year, reflects growing volatility gripping the currency markets amid the persistent hawkish outlook on a US rate hike in September boosting the dollar’s safe-haven appeal. The key psychological threshold of 1,300 won is considered

The Korea Exchange said Tuesday it signed an agreement with the city on Friday to launch a Busan-based professional table tennis team by next month. The envisioned team will take part in the Korea Table Tennis League in the upcoming regular season, which begins in late January. The KRX, South Korea’s bourse operator, said it will help find new talent, foster professionals and contribute to the local community as it runs the Busan-based team. “We will support outstanding players t

SEJONG -- Big Korean businesses saw their inventory surge by about 50 percent in the first half on-year, sparking concerns that the piling products left unsold is maybe a sign that South Korea is entering a fog of economic uncertainty. According to the corporate research institute Leaders Index, the inventory assets held by 192 conglomerates came to 147.6 trillion won ($110 billion) in the first half of the year, a 49.6 percent increase from 98.6 trillion won in the first half of 2021. While b

South Korean stocks fell more than 1 percent Tuesday as investors shunned risky assets amid concerns over further aggressive rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. The Korean won continued to weaken against the US dollar following a sharp drop in the previous session. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 27.16 points, or 1.10 percent, to close at 2,435.34, extending the losing streak to a fifth session. Trading volume was moderate at 460.02 million shares worth 7.34 trillion won ($5

Strong trade ties with China contributed to Korea’s thriving exports, but experts warn of growing dependence on Beijing

SK Networks has invested 4 billion won ($3 million) in Com2Verse, a metaverse-specialized subsidiary of South Korean game developer Com2uS, to explore business opportunities in the world of metaverse, officials said Tuesday. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding to join forces in setting up and strengthening a metaverse ecosystem. The signing ceremony took place in the Com2Verse metaverse platform’s virtual auditorium on the previous day. According to officials, SK Net

An absolute majority of bond mavens in South Korea expect the country's central bank to raise its key interest by a quarter point in August in line with the US Federal Reserve's hawkish stance, a poll showed Tuesday. According to the survey of 100 bond experts by the Korea Financial Investment Association, 97 of the respondents forecast the Bank of Korea (BOK) to jack up its policy rate at a policy meeting slated for Thursday. Of the total, 91 percent predicted a 0.25 percentage-point

South Korea's stock market opened lower Tuesday as foreigners and institutions unloaded shares following overnight losses amid concerns over the Federal Reserve's monetary tightening. The Korean won continued to lose ground against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 15.39 points, or 0.62 percent, to trade at 2,447.11 points as of 9:15 a.m. Investors are awaiting Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on inflation and rate increases at the annua

South Korea's inflation expectations declined for the first time in eight months in August, amid hopes that the country's fast-rising inflation hike may peak later this year, a central bank survey showed Tuesday. Ordinary people expected consumer prices will grow 4.3 percent over the next year, which was down from an all-time high of 4.7 percent a month ago, according to the poll conducted by the Bank of Korea (BOK). This marked the first monthly decline since December 2021. "Consumer senti

The South Korean won breached the key psychological threshold of 1,300 won per US dollar, weakening to 1,340.2 won before closing at 1,339.8 won in onshore trading Monday -- a new low in 13 years prompted by a hawkish outlook on a US Federal Reserve’s rate hike in September. The 1,300 mark -- last crossed in April 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis before June 2022 when it was touched again -- is considered a red flag for the economy. The benchmark Kospi lost 1

EJONG -- The Yoon Suk-yeol administration would drastically reduce South Korea’s fiscal deficit starting from next year by restricting expansionary policies to improve the nation‘s fiscal soundness. According to government officials on Monday, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has set the goal of slashing the ratio of fiscal deficit to gross domestic product to 3 percent or under -- the first time in four years -- in its national budget plan for 2023. In addition, the Finance Mi